Page 63 of Deadly Lineage
Franklin and I shared a look.Yeah, death by pizza, not gruesome at all.Pushing the box away, I wondered when I’d be able to eat pizza again. Considering how much I loved the stuff, probably sooner than seemed logical. Right now, though, it didn’t hold a lot of appeal.
“Would you like a piece?” I asked Aurelia, confident that Franklin and I were finished.
With her head cocked to the side, she said, “Perhaps in a moment.”
Running my fingers through my hair, I noted my scalp was sweaty and figured it had to do with the adrenaline flooding my body. “Is there a reason you decided to pop in again so soon?”
She’d left not long ago. Franklin didn’t know that and cocked an eyebrow, prompting me to explain. “Aurelia was here earlier.”
I gave Franklin the rundown of what I’d learned. Naturally, he was disappointed. “Can’t say I’m surprised. That coincides with what we already know.”
“Yeah.” Unfortunately, what we already knew pointed to a narrow focus. The more I considered the situation, the more I thought a necromancerhadto be involved. I knew it wasn’t me and from what I knew, that should have either eliminated or significantly lowered the pool of possibilities. The sad fact was that I didn’t know my necromancer brethren at all. I knew wewere a small group, but I didn’t knowhowsmall, and I didn’t know what their capabilities were. Pops told me I was very capable for a necromancer, but I didn’t know much more than that.
“Erasmus, what are you—”
“Did you show him the images?” Aurelia interrupted Franklin, immediately spinning Franklin’s attention.
“What images?” Franklin asked as his eyes flicked between me and Aurelia.
I sighed. Tilting my head, I stared at the ceiling. “Thanks, Aurelia.” I didn’t sound very grateful.
“What images, Boone?” Franklin placed his elbows on the table and leaned forward. “What’s she talking about?”
Instead of answering Franklin, I crossed my arms and stared at Aurelia. “I said I’d tell him in time.”
“Time has no meaning to me,” Aurelia said by way of answer. While I believed that might be true in general, I didn’t believe it applied to the current situation.
Narrowing my eyes, I started to say something that was probably sheer lunacy given the fact I’d just learned she’d suffocated a previous master by covering him in pizza. Before I had a chance, Aurelia snatched a piece of cheese pizza and was gone.
I silently fumed for a full minute before I huffed and said, “That little shit. She just popped in to stir the pot.”
“Is she gone?” Franklin asked and I nodded. “Good. Now, disturbing revelations regarding pizza aside, what was she talking about?”
I went from twisting my paper towel to shredding it. I thought about lying, making some stupid shit up, but I doubted Franklin would believe it and didn’t think it was a good way to start our burgeoning…whatever this was. Momma’s words swam through my head. It might be a good way to stop this thingbetween me and O’Hare. Maybe I could do what Pops wanted and find a longer-lived species, someone who might fall in love with me and vice versa. But that was a pipe dream. Finding your special someone—your soulmate—wasn’t easy, no matter your species.
Besides, when I gazed across the table, into Franklin’s intense hazel eyes, full of concern and the fiery need to protect, I knew pushing him away would be pointless. Pops loved me enough to want me to be happy, and Franklin made me happy. Ridiculously happy.
I tried to hold onto that happy as I pulled my phone from my pocket, woke it, and opened the picture app. I pulled up my latest gallery of insults and slid the phone Franklin’s way. He appeared skeptical when he twisted the phone so he could see the pictures better. That skepticism died a painful death when he grasped what he was looking at.
Using his fingers, he blew the photos up. That only increased his rage. “Where is this?”
I hadn’t anticipated that and answered, “The sidewalk in front of my house.”
That took a couple seconds to sink in and when it did, Franklin’s ire changed to confusion. “When?”
“It was there when I got home earlier today.”
“I didn’t see anything when I pulled in.” Franklin started to get out of his chair, most likely ready to haul ass to the front sidewalk. Leaning over the table, I placed a halting hand on his forearm.
“It’s not there any longer. Aurelia took it upon herself to get rid of all the spray paint.”
My phone slipped from his fingers. “She did, huh?”
I swallowed. “Yeah. Funny, that.” I laughed, but it wasn’t joyful. “I didn’t ask her to do it. She just—”
“Decided it was something she wanted to do.”
I nodded. “Looks that way.”
